CNN Announces New Asia Line-Up, Including Launch of New Show "CNN Newsroom, Live from Hong Kong"

Network also announces new primetime evening show and appoints two new anchors to

Hong Kong bureau

HONG KONG, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CNN is expanding its live programming in the Asia Pacific region with the launch of a new primetime morning news show, a new primetime evening news show, and the appointment of two new full-time anchors, it was announced today. The announcement comes just weeks after CNN launched "On China", the network's first ever regular series focused on the country, hosted by Hong Kong-based Kristie Lu Stout.

Mike McCarthy, Senior Vice President, CNN International, said: "The Asia Pacific region is dynamic, compelling and delivers stories that shape the news day for the rest of the world. We are delighted to further increase coverage here from our headquarters in Hong Kong, through a new programming line up that reinforces our commitment to remaining the number one international news network in Asia, unmatched in our award-winning and relevant coverage."

The new primetime morning show, "CNN Newsroom, Live from Hong Kong", will air from 6am to 8am HKT each weekday beginning Monday November 19.  Co-hosts Andrew Stevens and Patricia Wu will cover the top stories from Asia Pacific and across the world, along with headlines across business, sport, weather, technology, entertainment and more. Andrew Stevens has been a Hong Kong-based anchor/correspondent with CNN for more than 13 years, while Patricia Wu is a newly appointed Hong Kong-based anchor/correspondent, having relocated from CNN's New York studio to co-host the new Asia morning show.

Anchor/correspondent Monita Rajpal is also a new addition to the Hong Kong team, relocating from CNN London to host a new Asia primetime evening news show, "CNN NewsCenter". The soon-to-be launched Hong Kong-anchored "CNN NewsCenter" will air from 7.30pm - 8pm HKT each weekday and will follow the format of the Atlanta-anchored show of the same name, taking viewers through the day's big stories of global importance.

Ellana Lee, Vice President and Managing Editor for CNN International Asia Pacific, said: "This is a hugely exciting time for CNN in the Asia Pacific region and we are delighted that Patricia and Monita are joining our award-winning Hong Kong team. They both have strong ties to Asia and bring with them first class international experience."

As part of the network's new Asia line-up, Pauline Chiou, who has been a Hong Kong based anchor/correspondent with CNN for more than three years, will replace Andrew Stevens as the co-host of the network's business show, World Business Today. Each weekday, ‘World Business Today' is anchored out of Hong Kong and London from 5pm - 6pm HKT, and anchored out of Hong Kong, London and New York from 10pm - 11pm HKT.

Anna Coren, who has been anchoring with CNN for four years, will now be an international correspondent based out of Hong Kong, allowing her to also cover the region as news warrants. The new role will showcase Coren's strong on-location and breaking news reporting skills demonstrated during the 2010 Manila bus hostage situation, the 2011 Japan tsunami, and most recently during her month-long posting to Kabul, Afghanistan, in September 2012.

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Biographies of CNN's Hong Kong-based Correspondents

High-res images available upon request

Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens is an award-winning anchor and correspondent based at CNN's Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong. Having joined CNN International in 1999, he has reported on significant economic and business stories for more than two decades and from three continents, and has covered key events including the 1987 stock market crash, the dotcom bubble burst in 2000 and the ongoing global financial crisis.

In addition to business reporting, Stevens has also covered social and political developments across Asia since relocating from London to Hong Kong in 1993. He has anchored news coverage of the biggest regional stories including the Japan earthquake and tsunami and reported extensively from the field on stories including the outbreak of SARS, the terror attacks in Mumbai, and the Pakistan earthquake. 

Stevens' full bio is available at: http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/stevens.andrew.html

Twitter: @Andrewcnn

Patricia Wu

Patricia Wu is an Emmy-Award winning journalist who has interviewed newsmakers from former U.S. President Bill Clinton to singer Billy Joel. Prior to moving to Hong Kong in November 2012, Wu was a correspondent for CNN in New York, reporting from the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.

Wu has reported for several television networks in the United States including HLN and Bloomberg TV, and has covered numerous national and international events including the global financial crisis, the 2004 Presidential Election, and the devastating tsunami in Thailand that same year. In 2007, she broke the story of the then candidate Barack Obama receiving Secret Service protection, the earliest that a candidate has ever been put under Secret Service protection.

Wu's full bio us available at: http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/wu.patricia.html

Twitter: @PatriciaWuCNN

Monita Rajpal

Monita Rajpal has been with CNN for more than a decade, during which time she has anchored multiple primetime news shows, interviewed some of the biggest names globally in politics, business, arts and fashion, and reported from locations across the globe, including Asia, Europe and Latin America. 

Rajpal was born in Hong Kong and spent much of her childhood there before moving abroad. Prior to returning to Hong Kong in November 2012, Rajpal was based in London where she was the co-host of CNN's 'World 1'. Since joining CNN in 2001, Rajpal has anchored many leading global and breaking news stories, including the death of Pope John Paul II, the first Iraqi elections, the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the 2005 London Bombings. She has interviewed politicians including former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, former Vice President Al Gore and the former Pakistani Prime Minister Benzir Bhutto, along with some of the biggest names in fashion including Tom Ford and Donatella Versace, and musicians Sir Bob Geldof and Dido.

Rajpal's full bio is available at: http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/rajpal.monita.html

Twitter: @MonitaRajpalCNN

Pauline Chiou

Pauline Chiou is an award-winning anchor and correspondent for CNN International based at the network's Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Hong Kong.

Chiou has covered some of the biggest business stories over the last decade and has extensively reported regional business news around emerging market economies, inflation and currency issues. She has interviewed economic, political and cultural newsmakers including Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, President of Iceland Olafur Grimsson, Zynga Games CEO Mark Pincus, HSBC Asia-Pacific CEO Peter Wong, Garuda Indonesia CEO Emirsyah Satar, Marriott International President & CEO Arne Sorenson, Ruckus Wireless CEO Selena Lo, and media mogul & Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai.

Chiou's full bio is available at: http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/chiou.pauline.html

Twitter: @paulinecnn

Anna Coren

Anna Coren is an award-winning international correspondent for CNN International, based at the network's Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Hong Kong.

Coren has been a journalist for more than a decade and has reported live on location from some of the biggest news events in Asia Pacific over the last couple of years, including the death of Kim Jung Il, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Thailand's worst floods in 50 years, and the tourist bus hostage standoff in the Philippines. Most recently, Coren spent a month reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan. Since joining CNN in 2008, Coren has interviewed some of the world's top newsmakers, including United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Thailand's former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Korean actor and singer Rain, and Hollywood actors and activists George Clooney and Sigourney Weaver.

Coren's full bio is available at: http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/coren.anna.html

Twitter: @AMCoren

Kristie Lu Stout

Kristie Lu Stout is an award-winning anchor/correspondent for CNN International, based in Hong Kong. Stout is the host of the weeknightly news program ‘News Stream' and CNN's new monthly show ‘On China'.

Stout has reported on the world's major news stories and the people behind those stories for over a decade. She has led and anchored coverage of major stories including the death of Kim Jong Il, the dynamic political landscape in China, as well as the Arab Spring and protest movements around the world. She has interviewed figures in a wide range of current events including Myanmar pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, dissident artist Ai Weiwei, and global pop superstar Lady Gaga.

Lu Stout's full bio is available at: http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/stout.kristie.html

Twitter: @klustout

CNN is the world's leading global 24-hour news network and one of the world's most respected and trusted sources for news and information. The CNN brand is available to two billion people via 18 CNN branded TV, internet and mobile services produced by CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System Inc and a Time Warner company. CNN International is the international directorate of CNN Worldwide and distributes news via 14 services in seven different languages. CNN International can be seen in more than 280 million households and hotel rooms in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, including over 44 million across the Asia Pacific region and online at www.cnn.com/international.

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